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jmc

counting and probability senior

Problem

Mike draws five cards from a standard 52-card deck. What is the probability that he draws a card from at least three of the four suits? Express your answer as a simplified fraction.
Solution
We calculate the probability that he does not draw a card from at least three of the suits. To do this, we calculate the number of sets of 5 cards from at most two suits and divide by , the number of sets of 5 cards. Since there are choices for the two suits, and ways to choose 5 cards from the 26 in those two suits, our answer would appear to be . But this triple-counts the ways to choose the cards from a single suit: 5 hearts is included in 5 (hearts and spades), 5 (hearts and clubs), and 5 (hearts and diamonds). So we subtract twice the number of ways to choose cards from a single suit: . We divide this by to get Therefore, the probability that he draws three or four of the suits is .
Final answer
\frac{507}{595}